Remember the Alamo!
Saturday was touristy day for me in San Antonio. The ridiculous April cold front that dropped snow on DC also dropped rain and 40-degree weather on Texas. ARGH. Driving down wasn't too bad, except for the people who are afraid to drive next to 18-wheelers, which we have plenty of around here. But I made it in about 90 minutes. The NJB (who will now be known as 'E'... not to be confused with 'EJ' who has taken over my trips to the supermarket with Dani!) met me at a shopping center a little north of town - no sense taking two cars into that melee.
It was noon when I got there, but we weren't all that hungry, so we went to see the McNay Museum of Art. This worked out rather well, as the current exhibit on Warhol, Wyeth and
Basquiat ends this weekend. I love pop art! [The Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh still stands out as one of the best Internet2 Worshop evening events that I planned, back in June of '99]. The most interesting items (IMHO) were the papercuts of Robert Indiana's costume and stage design for "The Mother of Us All", an opera by Gertrude Stein about Women's Suffrage. (scroll to page 13 to see Indiana's designs.) Who is Robert Indiana, you ask? You may recognize his most famous image (right). :) I wish they had had a book or postcards of the papercuts, but no dice.
Then we went downtown. Did I forget to mention that it was freezing cold and drizzling? First stop, the Menger Hotel (it was on the way to the Alamo). I had to stop by when I read that Teddy Roosevelt came here to recruit Rough Riders! The bar is beautiful. Apparently they see ghosts there all the time. Moving on to the Alamo. There was a long line of people snaking around the inside, but the docents kept saying "I don't know why there's a line, you can just wander through..." So we did! Of course, I also got in trouble for taking a picture inside (and the picture didn't come out, so that was a wasted scolding!) We walked through the garden and the barracks, and then headed for the Riverwalk.
I have to say, the Riverwalk was nice and empty because of the weather. If it had been warmer
and sunnier, it would have been PACKED. We tried to go to La Villita, but there was a "Starving Artists" show, so we couldn't go through the little shops. (I wonder if a lot of people fell for that and paid the $3?) Then we got some tea at the mall and thawed out a little bit. My ears were frozen!
By the time we made it over to the Mercado area, it was 4:30 or so. We wandered through a few of the shops there - they went from small tchotchkes to uber-tchotcheland. Ugh. Dinner was at Mi Tierra, a San Antonio landmark. The food was very good, and the mariachis were everywhere. We left before they started singing again. ;)
After dinner we went to see "Blades of Glory." Neither one of us was totally excited about the movie choice, but it turned out to be hilarious! Eventually Will Ferrell will make a movie where we don't have to see him half-naked... They also showed the previews for Shrek the Third, the next Fantastic Four, and Spiderman 3. Sequel summer, here we come!
[Note to self: Do not try to write a full-day's blog entry during the first of the last 9 episodes of the Sopranos!!!]
As for E, he's a funny, smart, sweet guy and I'll definitely be seeing him again. :)
It was noon when I got there, but we weren't all that hungry, so we went to see the McNay Museum of Art. This worked out rather well, as the current exhibit on Warhol, Wyeth and
Basquiat ends this weekend. I love pop art! [The Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh still stands out as one of the best Internet2 Worshop evening events that I planned, back in June of '99]. The most interesting items (IMHO) were the papercuts of Robert Indiana's costume and stage design for "The Mother of Us All", an opera by Gertrude Stein about Women's Suffrage. (scroll to page 13 to see Indiana's designs.) Who is Robert Indiana, you ask? You may recognize his most famous image (right). :) I wish they had had a book or postcards of the papercuts, but no dice.
Then we went downtown. Did I forget to mention that it was freezing cold and drizzling? First stop, the Menger Hotel (it was on the way to the Alamo). I had to stop by when I read that Teddy Roosevelt came here to recruit Rough Riders! The bar is beautiful. Apparently they see ghosts there all the time. Moving on to the Alamo. There was a long line of people snaking around the inside, but the docents kept saying "I don't know why there's a line, you can just wander through..." So we did! Of course, I also got in trouble for taking a picture inside (and the picture didn't come out, so that was a wasted scolding!) We walked through the garden and the barracks, and then headed for the Riverwalk.I have to say, the Riverwalk was nice and empty because of the weather. If it had been warmer
and sunnier, it would have been PACKED. We tried to go to La Villita, but there was a "Starving Artists" show, so we couldn't go through the little shops. (I wonder if a lot of people fell for that and paid the $3?) Then we got some tea at the mall and thawed out a little bit. My ears were frozen!By the time we made it over to the Mercado area, it was 4:30 or so. We wandered through a few of the shops there - they went from small tchotchkes to uber-tchotcheland. Ugh. Dinner was at Mi Tierra, a San Antonio landmark. The food was very good, and the mariachis were everywhere. We left before they started singing again. ;)
After dinner we went to see "Blades of Glory." Neither one of us was totally excited about the movie choice, but it turned out to be hilarious! Eventually Will Ferrell will make a movie where we don't have to see him half-naked... They also showed the previews for Shrek the Third, the next Fantastic Four, and Spiderman 3. Sequel summer, here we come!
[Note to self: Do not try to write a full-day's blog entry during the first of the last 9 episodes of the Sopranos!!!]
As for E, he's a funny, smart, sweet guy and I'll definitely be seeing him again. :)
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